Woodland Elementary Counselor Nita
Hill has been named Washington State School Counselor of the Year. She was
notified of her selection during National
School Counseling Week.

Hill was
honored in front of her peers during the annual Washington School Counselor
Association Conference in February, and at the Puyallup School Board meeting on
March 18.

She began
her counseling career in the Bethel School District, before moving to Puyallup
five years ago. “I was so excited about the work that the counseling team was
doing here, I started keeping my eye out for an opportunity to make a move,”
says Hill. She worked at Zeiger and Waller Road elementary schools before transitioning
to full-time at Woodland.

Woodland Elementary
Principal Heather McMullen describes her as a school counselor who demonstrates
professionalism and innovation. She plans and facilitates professional
development for the district counselors and works with them to develop
professional goals together.

“Nita has a lengthy, rich resume. She is
a warm, caring, energetic person, and she brings enthusiasm to the role and to
our school,” says McMullen.

A school counselor for more than 20 years, Hill
has served as part of the American
School Counselor Association National Model training team. The ASCA
model is a framework for organizing work as a school counselor and using data
to inform interventions and the impact of interventions. According to Hill, it
is about being able to answer the question, “How are students different as a
result of their time with the School Counselor.” The mission and vision should
be connected to the bigger mission of the school and district.

“Not all
work with students can be measured in tangible things like attendance,
achievement, or behavioral data, but when we can it’s important to measure and
reflect on the effectiveness of an intervention,” she says.

Hill serves as the elementary counseling
coordinator for the district. She also supports counselors statewide as
advocacy chair for the Washington School Counselor Association. She was among
the first school counselors to become national board certified in our state and
Woodland Elementary School was recently recognized as the first Recognized ASCA
Model Program Elementary School in the state of Washington. This work
resulted in her nomination and selection as the Washington State School
Counselor of the Year.

To be considered for counselor of the
year, candidates submit an application
that outlines program goals, data form interventions, and other general
information. A selection panel reviews the applications and makes a final
decision.

Hill will
move forward as the Washington state representative to compete for National
School Counselor of the Year and will have the opportunity to travel to
Washington, D.C. next year.As a state
representative, she will submit an application and a video to the review
committee to demonstrates her work in several areas of school counseling. A
review team will select six finalists to attend a week-long event that includes
interviews and advocacy with elected officials. All candidates are invited to a
gala in January 2020, which is headlined by former first lady Michelle Obama
who has championed school counselors as a part of her Reach Higher
Initiative.

In her spare
time Hill likes to hang out with her husband and three sons. They are an
outdoor family who like to camp and be active. She also enjoys dance fitness
and quality time hanging out with friends, laughing and having fun.

“This has been such a humbling experience, there are so many
amazing school counselors in our district and across this state. I feel really
honored to get to work with them daily to help our students, and I feel honored
and overwhelmed to have been selected for this honor this year,” says Hill.

Nancy French
frenchnl@puyallup.k12.wa.us

The Puyallup School District, in partnership with our diverse communities, educates and inspires students to reach their full potential.